a. Field of the Disclosure
The instant disclosure relates to elongate medical devices, including the electrical infrastructure for elongate medical devices.
b. Background Art
Electrophysiology catheters are used for an ever-growing number of procedures. For example, electrophysiology catheters are used for diagnostic, therapeutic, and ablative procedures, to name just a few examples. Typically, the catheter is manipulated through the patient's vasculature and to the intended site, for example, a site within the patient's heart. The catheter typically carries one or more sensors, such as electrodes, which may be used for ablation, electrophysiology mapping, and the like.
A portion of an exemplary electrophysiology catheter 10 manufactured according to known methods is shown in cross-section in FIG. 1. The catheter 10 includes an elongate tubular body 12 defining a longitudinal axis A and an interior lumen 14, a tip electrode 16, and a number of ring electrodes 18a, 18b, 18c. The catheter 10 may also include numerous other features (not illustrated), such as one or more pull wires coupled with the body, such as through one or more pull rings, to steer the catheter 10, one or more fluid ports and lumens, and other known features. The body 12 may be made of a thermoplastic elastomer or another suitable material, such as Pebax™, Teflon™, or Kapton™. The ring electrodes 18 may be embedded in the body 12 during melt processing of the body 12 or through other known manufacturing steps or methods. The tip electrode 16 and the ring electrodes 18 may be electrically coupled with leads 20 extending to a proximal end of the catheter (not shown) for coupling with a mapping and navigation system, ablation generator, or other electrical system, for example. The leads 20 may extend longitudinally through the interior lumen 14 of the body, as shown in FIG. 1, or may extend through the wall of the body 12.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.